WRI Insights

There’s a growing gap between current investment in low-carbon energy and what’s needed to meet world demand while avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. The good news is there’s sufficient capital and investor interest to close much of this gap. However, policies that encourage market certainty and level the playing field between different energy sources are needed to attract the volume of investment required, according to a special International Energy Agency (IEA) report, the [World Energy Investment Outlook](http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/name,86205,en.html), released this month.

While the vast majority of citizens in developing cities don’t own cars, infrastructure is still being designed and financed to support motor vehicle travel. In Mexico, for example, less than one-third of urban trips are made in cars, but three-quarters of the federal mobility budget is allocated to highways. It’s time for the world’s cities to start thinking about moving *people* rather than moving *cars*.

How does the world feed more than 9 billion people in the year 2050 in a manner that not only advances economic development but also reduces agriculture’s impact on the environment? How will we know if we’re on the right path? WRI recently reviewed a number of existing indicators on the environmental sustainability of agriculture and identified gaps. [Our analysis](http://www.wri.org/publication/indicators-sustainable-agriculture-scoping-analysis) uncovers a need for improvements in indicators as well as the data underlying them—in particular, what we call the “3Ps, 5 themes, and 7 criteria.”

Penduduk Indonesia dan Singapura beberapa minggu belakangan mulai bersiap-siap sehubungan dengan peringatan [WRI](http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2014/06/08/indonesia-braces-for-a-dry-season-that-could-be-bad-new-for-it-forests/) dan [beberapa institusi lain](http://blog.cifor.org/23000/forests-news-update-qa-on-fires-and-haze-in-southeast-asia#.U6hen_ldUnU) bahwa musim kemarau tahun ini terindikasi akan menyebabkan lonjakan api di Pulau Sumatera, ditemani dengan kabut asap beracun di sekitar kawasan.

Reflecting on [World Forest Week 2014](http://www.fao.org/forestry/cofo2014/en/), where the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN launched a [Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism](http://www.fao.org/3/a-mk173e.pdf) to help countries meet the [Bonn Challenge](http://www.forestlandscaperestoration.org/topic/bonn-challenge) to restore 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested lands by 2020, we need to further think about creating the rich landscapes that the world needs.

Indonesia and Singapore have been bracing themselves in recent weeks as warnings that this year's dry season would likely herald a severe spike in forest fires in Sumatra, with toxic haze across the region.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its first-ever access to information policy last week. The pilot policy—which will be revised after its first year—aims to “enhance transparency and openness” in the organization’s work. But despite its noble aspirations, the policy falls far short of providing true transparency.

Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile 2000-2006 and Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana 1998 -2008, co-authored this blog post as members of the High Level Advisory Committee to the Climate Justice Dialogue. They offer three decisive reasons for immediate and substantial capitalization of the Green Climate Fund.

U.S. climate action received support yesterday from four former EPA administrators who served Republican presidents. William D. Ruckelshaus, Lee M. Thomas, William K. Reilly, and Christine Todd Whitman testified before the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee at a hearing entitled [“Climate Change: The Need to Act Now.”](http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_id=a26b916b-b182-45cb-f502-930b93f8a24b) They delivered a clear message for Congress: Climate change is one of the greatest threats to America’s economy, environment, and communities—and it need not be a partisan issue.

After the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Japan halted all existing nuclear operations and significantly scaled back its 2020 emissions-reduction target. As Japan revises its energy policy over the next few years, officials will decide the future of the country’s energy mix—and its climate action. New research [reveals](http://www.wri.org/publication/ghg-mitigation-policy-japan) that Japan can likely go beyond its emissions-reduction target with existing initiatives, but needs to pursue more ambitious action in the long-term to truly overcome the climate change challenge.